Thailand's bicycle market remains on course to grow, albeit at a slower pace, with demand spurred by myriad cycling events.
Sakchai Pattarapreechakul, president of NCC Management & Development Co, said the market value of bicycles and accessories in Thailand was expected to grow by 10% this year to 6.5 billion baht, with accessories representing 20%.
The number of Thai cyclists is expected to surge from 2.7 million in 2014 to 3.2 million this year.
Mr Sakchai said that despite the weak baht, the import value of bicycles and accessories was expected to manage healthy growth of 28.4% to 3.4 billion baht this year.
NCC Exhibition Organizer Co is holding International Bangkok Bike 2015 from yesterday until Sunday at Impact Muang Thong Thani. It expects 170,000 visitors and 500 million baht of spending.
Jantana Tiyawatchalapong, marketing director of LA Bicycle (Thailand), a Thai-owned maker and distributor of bicycles, said despite the country's cloudy economic prospects, LA expected its sales to increase by about 5% to 2.3 billion baht this year.
"Thanks to the country's 'Bike for Mom' cycling event in Bangkok to mark Her Majesty the Queen's 83rd birthday and upcoming 'Bike for Dad' on Dec 11 to mark His Majesty the King's 88th birthday, we expect higher bicycle demand is likely in the second half of this year," said Ms Jantana.
LA earlier expected sales to stay flat at around 2.1-2.2 billion baht in 2015 due to the low purchasing power of Thai people.
Half of the company's sales come from domestic customers, with the balance from exports mainly to Asean, India, Japan and Europe. LA is also an original equipment manufacturer, only for shipments.
Thailand's bicycle market has recorded healthy growth over the past six years as more people turn to cycling for sport and travel.
There are now about 70 bicycle distributors in Thailand, up from only six or seven distributors 10 years ago. That figure excludes more than 300 dealers.
About 90% of distributors are importers of international brands that focus on high-performance sports models.
With the import tariff for bicycles currently only 1%, prices are very attractive.
However, Ms Jantana said retail prices of imported bicycles might be subject to an increase of about 12% from the fourth quarter because of the baht's depreciation. This will directly affect high-end bicycles.